Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
William BlakeRead
To Mercy Pity Peace and Love All pray in their distress, And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness. For Mercy Pity Peace and Love Is God our father dear. And Mercy Pity Peace and Love Is Man his child and care. Then every man of every clime That prays in his distress Prays to the human form divine: Love Mercy Pity Peace. And all must love the human form In heathen, Turk, or Jew. Where Mercy, Love and Pity dwell There God is dwelling too.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of virtues like mercy, pity, peace, and love as divine qualities inherent in humanity and a reflection of God.
William Blake's quote articulates that virtues such as mercy, pity, peace, and love are essential in human existence and spirituality. He suggests that when individuals face distress and seek these virtues, they are engaging in a prayer to a divine essence reflected in the human experience, transcending religious divides and underscoring the universal need for compassion and kindness in mankind.
Themes
MercyPityPeaceLoveHumanityVirtuesDistress
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about kindness and community, one might say, 'As Blake reminds us, when we embody love, mercy, and peace, we are truly reflecting the divine in ourselves.'
More from William Blake
All quotes →In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
William BlakeRead
O thou who passest through our valleys in Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat That flames from their large nostrils! Thou, O Summer, Oft pitchest here thy golden tent, and oft Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
William BlakeRead
Every Night and every Morn Some to Misery are born. Every Morn and every Night Some are born to Sweet Delight, Some are born to Endless Night.
William BlakeRead
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
William BlakeRead
He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.
William BlakeRead
Similar quotes
Interest is the spur of the people, but glory that of great souls. Invention is the talent of youth, and judgment of age.
Jonathan SwiftRead
And then sometimes I think the people to feel saddest for are people who once knew what profoundness was, but who lost or became numb to the sensation of wonder – people who closed the doors that leads us into the secret world – or who had the doors closed for them by time and neglect and decisions made in times of weakness.
Douglas CouplandRead
If we destroy human rights and rule of law in response to terrorism, they have won.
Joichi ItoRead
Mission [is] understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It [is] thus put in the context of the Trinity, not of ecclesiology or soteriology. The classical doctrine of the missio dei as God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit [is] expanded to include yet another “movement”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world.
David BoschRead
Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were always the best and the strongest of cities, and our people were vital to the teeth. Knock them down eight times and they would get up with that look in the eye which suggests the fight has barely begun.
Norman MailerRead
Perhaps our greatest distinction as a species is our capacity, unique among animals, to make counter-evolutionary choices.
Jared DiamondRead